


Carrot & Stick

by lucyisalive



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: First Meetings, Star Trek Discovery Annual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-26 00:31:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14390355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucyisalive/pseuds/lucyisalive
Summary: "Lieutenant Paul Stamets had been in his office for all of two minutes before Captain Gabriel Lorca knew with some degree of certainty that he was going to hate this one as much as he’d hated the first."So this is basically an expansion of that scene in the Discovery Annual that takes place in Lorca's office, but written from Lorca's point of view. An exploration of Mirror Lorca's first encounters with Stamets and Tilly. Sidenote: writing from the villain's perspective is fun!





	Carrot & Stick

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Кнут и пряник](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17552318) by [lariatta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lariatta/pseuds/lariatta), [ST_Discovery_20XX](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ST_Discovery_20XX/pseuds/ST_Discovery_20XX)



> Many thanks to my beta reader - @30MinuteLoop

Lieutenant Paul Stamets had been in his office for all of two minutes before Captain Gabriel Lorca knew with some degree of certainty that he was going to hate this one as much as he’d hated the first.

Well maybe not _quite_ as much. The other one _had_ betrayed him after all, selling him out to the Empire, resulting in the failure of his coup and the destruction of his ship.

But still… this one was _so annoying_. Just like his counterpart, he had no respect for authority, he whined and complained at every opportunity, and he didn’t seem to care about anything but his work. And judging by the way he spoke about the war, he was just as weak and cowardly as well, so unwilling to fight. Both of them were the antithesis of what it meant to be strong, to be a man, to be Terran.

Not that that’s what they called themselves here. Here in this pathetic, deluded reality they still called themselves _human._ Lorca couldn’t understand why a more dominant race hadn’t conquered this _Federation_ a long time ago.

Still, for the time being at least, he needed to pretend to serve their interests. And unfortunately, he also needed Stamets. No one else had the expertise to get him home.

Lorca shook himself out of his reverie and tuned back into the conversation he was having, to find the scientist complaining _again_.

“…why have all my staff requests been turned down? I can’t work without a team that _I_ choose.”

_You can and you will if you know what’s good for you, Lieutenant._

Lorca almost verbalised that thought, but hastily bit it back. If he wanted to deal with this guy, he was going to need a carrot and stick approach. Carrot first. He would pretend to empathise and see if that made Stamets more agreeable.

“I can relate,” he said. Not a lie. The idea of taking this group of wide-eyed, naive scientists into a battle seemed laughable at the moment. Any ship in the Terran fleet would be able to tear this one apart within moments. “We’re both going to have to make do with what we’re given when it comes to crew and equipment.”

Stamets was clearly not about to back down. His face was twisted into a frown, and Lorca could almost _sense_ the counter-arguments brewing in his mind.

_Okay. Time for a stick then_.

Lorca made his voice more threatening. “If you can’t accept that, there’s still time for you to unenlist.”

He knew that would get through to him. There was no way Stamets was going to leave his work in someone else’s hands. And indeed, when Stamets finally responded, his voice was less stubborn, more compromising.

“At the very least give me one of my preferred candidates. I know you said no cadets, but she is an extraordinary engineer who is familiar with my work in astromycology. I won’t serve without her.”

Another empty threat. Lorca knew that Stamets would serve under any conditions if he was forced to. Nevertheless, Stamets had just provided him with another dangling carrot that he could quite easily offer back. “Let me see her details then,” he said.

Stamets handed over his PADD and Lorca looked down at the picture of the young redheaded woman. It was a testament to his willpower that he was able to prevent any glimmer of recognition from crossing his features.

Sylvia Tilly. _Captain ‘Killy’,_ who in his universe was one of the most brutal and feared captains in the fleet, here was just an innocent, wide-eyed cadet. She looked younger, her hair was different, and the way she was smiling in the photo seemed… _wrong_ somehow. Completely without the menace and the quiet confidence which dominated her counterpart’s every expression. Still, it was recognisably her.

Lorca imagined the look on Captain Tilly’s face if she saw what had become of herself in this reality and almost burst out laughing. But once again, he controlled himself.

He decided almost immediately that he wanted her on this ship. Tilly was Captain of the Discovery in his own universe, after all. There was no telling how useful she could be once they made their way back there. Still, it would be better to let Stamets think he was doing it begrudgingly; he didn’t want the scientist thinking he was conceding to his demands.

“Do you really think that a ship headed for _war_ is going to be an appropriate place for a _cadet_ ,” he said, as scathingly as possible.

“Like, I said, she’s incredibly gifted. She was fast-tracked through the academy and is looking for a posting on a science vessel. I believe this one would be perfect for her.”

“This ship is no longer a science vessel, Lieutenant.”

Stamets scowled. “That may be true, _Captain,_ but that doesn’t change the fact that this vessel has a mission. A mission that is based around _my scientific specialty_. And I believe this cadet can help with advancing that mission.”

Lorca could tell from the expression on the scientist’s face as well as the venom in his voice when he said ‘ _Captain_ ’ that his dislike of the man was entirely mutual. Good. He would be offended by this man’s respect.

But still… he was necessary.

_Here comes the carrot_. “Very well, you may have this cadet as part of your team, but I expect her work to be flawless.”

“Yes sir.”

_And here comes the stick_ . “And in case it wasn’t clear, I expect the same standard from you Lieutenant Stamets, or there _will be_ consequences. Dismissed.”

Stamets looked a little thrown off and more than a little offended by the abrupt dismissal, but he begrudgingly left the office. As he left, Lorca turned around to look at the stars, squinting against the light, thinking grimly to himself…

_That one’s going to be difficult to manage._   

**Author's Note:**

> I don't usually thrive on negative emotions, but I love how much those two hate each other!


End file.
